Artist: Jacques Louis David 

Dimensions: 33.2 x 42.1 cm

Date: 1787

Medium: Black chalk, pen, and black and brown ink, brush and gray and brown wash heightened with white gouache

Institutional Accreditation: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lucius Junius Brutus brought the end to Rome’s last King Tarquin. He then established the first Roman Republic but found out that his sons were involved in a royalist conspiracy; thus, he had them executed. This study focused on the aftermath of the event. It showed the mother’s arms stretched out towards her sons, and Brutus, the father, with his back turned to the arrival of his son’s bodies. This artwork showed that to be committed to your patriot duty, sometimes personal sacrifices are required. David also incorporated the neoclassical style in this study. He depicted Roman architecture and Roman attire. The figures’ arrangement is similar to relief like plane, and the clean geometry of the architectural setting showed Neoclassical styles.

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